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N. PETERs. Pl-lom-UTHOGRAPMER, WASHINGTON D C then holds fixed, thus avoiding the necessity UNITED STACWENT oEEioE,

EGBER'rr. CARTER, oEYoRKsHInE, NEW `vonk.v

RAILROAD-GATE.

Specification of Letters `PatentNi)- Toall whom 'it may concermi y 1 y Be it known that I, `EGEERT P. CARTER, of? Yorkshire, `in the county of Cattaraugus and State of New York, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Gates; and I do hereby ,declare the, following to be a full, clear, and exact de` scription of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part thereof, in which- Figure l, represents an enlarged view of one of the disks or hubs of the gate. Fig. 2, represents an end view, and Fig. 3, a top view of the entire apparatus.

Similar letters in the several figures represent the same parts.

The nature of my invention consists in so constructing rail gates, to be opened, and held open by the action of the cars in passing, as that the gates shall swing upward in the arc of a circle, from an axis in the center of thehub ofthe gate, by means of a shaft which passing train first rotates, and

of having any portion of the apparatus to sink below the level of the track, which is liable to become inoperative by snow, ice, &c.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

The posts A, areso arranged as to leave a clear passage for the cars between them, and in suitablebearings in their tops, I arrange the fixed axes a, of the hubs or disks C, into which the rails are fitted. The disks C, are made of cast iron, with suitable mortises cast in them, into which the railsB, of wood may be driven, said rails projecting from each side, when double gates are used, so as to overlap each other slightly, midway between the rails or tracks. In thecenter of the disks, I 'arrange a spring b (Fig. 1) which has one of its ends secured to the disk, and the other end to the fixed axes a, so that when the gate is raised up, it winds up the spring, which on relaxing, after the train has passed, lets down the gate again.

On the sills of the road, which are allowed to project sufficiently far for the pur pose, I arrange the bearings D, into which are fitted the ends of a rock shaft E, arranged parallel with the rails, and just outside of them, said shaft having at each of its ends a cam ledge o, which are connected 8,736, `dated February 17, 1852.

together byfa straight ledge le. The` shaft should be of such length as to allow` one car to be on or passing over it, until the whole train has passed. The wheels of the locomotive in passing (or the rst car) in either direction comes in `contact with the cam` ledge o, and rotates the shaft. Each succeeding car in passing runs upon the straight ledge 7c, holding the shaftin afixed position.

On the shaft E, 4I arrange two cams z', d, to one of which (i) I attach a chain e, which passes from said cam under a friction pulley j, andV thence a pulley or drum onthe disk C, onone side, to which it is also attached. From the cam d, I pass a chain g, underneath the track, (which for security` may be boxed up) passing under a friction pulley h, i

and thence to a pulley or drum on the op posite disk, to which it is likewise attached. When the shaft E, is turned `by the first car of the train, it winds up the chains c, g, on their respective cams z', d, and raises up the gates, whichin raising winds up the spring` Z), in the center of each of the disks; the` cars running over the straight ledge holds up the gates, and when the train passes the uncoiling of thefspring lets them. `down again, and rotates the shaft back again into position for opening them by the next passing train. The disks, inorder that they may be made light, may be cast in open work, or may be a simple wheel, with a rim sufficiently strong to receive and hold the rails, and the figures or openings may be so arranged in the disks as to throw the greater amount of metal on one side or the other of the center, so as to allow the gate to rise or fall by its own weight, as may be preferred, using for the alternate movement some other machinery.

The gates may be divided in the center between the track, or a single gate may be used extending clear across the track. The double gates may be raised from a single apparatus near one of the rails or from both rails as may be found most expedient.

It has been found that wliere a cam, or other piece of the machinery isually employed for this purpose, had tothe struck by the car in order to open the gates, that the inert-ia of such piece often broke up or disarranged the apparatus so as to make it inoperative and dangerous. And where any portion of the machinery must be sunk in order to produee'the effect, it is liable to become clogged by snow and ice. In my arrangement a cani is pressed so gradually by the Wheel as not to make any sudden jar, and the mere rocking of a shaft performs the Whole operation.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, What I claim therein as neW and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The method herein described for balanoing a railroad or other gate, Viz: by means of a spring, coiled around a stationary axis to Which it is attached by one end, the other end being attached to the disk Which forms the hub or center of the gate turning on said axis, substantially as herein described.

2. I also claim the use of the rook shaft E, provided with the cam ledges c, and straight ledge la, to be operated upon by the Wheels of the passing train, and the cams z, d, for Winding up the chains which draw up the gates, the Whole being arranged in the manner and for the purpose herein substantially set forth and shown.

EGBERT P. CARTER.

Witnesses A. B. SToUGI-ITON, S. C. DoNN. 

